


Of Signs and Gods and Anything Else

by Ea4g



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Character, Chess Metaphors, Dreams and Nightmares, F/F, F/M, Genderfluid Character, Gods and Monsters, Happily Ever After, Loss of Parent(s), Manipulation, Multi, Only Jonah is a Body Snatcher, Soulmates, Spirits, Tarot: Wild Unknown
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-23 14:20:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13789536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ea4g/pseuds/Ea4g
Summary: Of course the Powers Above knew that some human idiots were messing with The Gibborim, and if anyone thinks they're just going to sit on their asses and let it happen then they've lost there minds.





	Of Signs and Gods and Anything Else

**Author's Note:**

> “Is not the world sad enough, in genuine earnest, without making a pastime of mock sorrows?” – Nathaniel Hawthorne

“So…it’s come to this at last.” said The Fool, Angel of Music, Patron of Love and Mortal Enemy of Nihilism.

It shouldn't have been any surprise, it was him who'd come up with this plan. Still it's hard to accept something like this, and messing with children's lives especially is never something he's just okay with. But there comes a point where steps have to be taken. We cannot simply rely on these Pryde fools pulling a moral 180, not anymore. Keep the hope, that's a necessity, and don't give up on them, but it's decided. Time was nearly up. Only two decades or so and the immortal would have what he wanted, and then we'd lose another world to the dark. We needed a plan B.

So The Fool raised his cane and we stepped through a door. It wasn't a door as most people think of a door. Until about two seconds ago it was a long, thin crack in the paint on the wall. The Fool can open door anywhere there is a crack or crevice. The mortar web on a brick wall, the space between the bars or posts in a gate, even the crack between an actual door and the door jam, anything you can imagine can be a door for him. Any crack in any defense can be his way in.

This particular door led to a sterile room in a hospital. It was a single occupancy suite, with only one bed, a few empty chairs, and two sleeping occupants. The Fool didn't bother to scan the room for witnesses as he knew no one would be able to see us. We can't be seen unless we want to be seen. It help us get around and do what needs doing unhindered by humans.

The blond woman lying in bed, dressed in a hospital gown looked lovely even in sleep, but it wasn't her we were here to see about. This was about the little bundle wrapped in her arms. A baby boy, not even a day old.

"I don't envy you," The Fool said to the sleeping newborn, sitting down next to mother and son on the cot, "the burden we're asking you to carry. It's a terrible thing we do when we make the destinies of children into great things. But the world needs heroes just as surely as it needs sun and water and you, my lad, have been chosen to be a hero. And it won't be all bad, I promise you that much. I'll be with you and your family every step of the way. Your real family mind you, not the people who brought you into this world. Those two will be your greatest weakness all your life. But you'll know a love that will stick the two of you like burrs. And the funniest thing is that you'll laugh through the pain of it. Eventually."

The Fool let out a sigh and rose to his feet. He rolled up the sleeves of his bright red shirt to expose the mark of the fool on his arm, like he always does when he's getting ready to do some serious work, and pulled out a box the size of his hand from his pocket. He opened it and pored the deck of cards in it onto his palm. The box itself seemed to just disappear, though without fail it'd be there again whenever he needed it. Absently, he shuffled the cards as he looked down at the baby before pulling one out of the deck, holding it between his index and middle finger and pointing it at the boy.

The card depicted a leopard displayed in profile with an infinity symbol written in the fur on his chest. His image was surmounted by the gold and red rays of the sun and at his feet lay a sword, goblet, pentacle seal and a flowering wood rod. At the very top of the card the roman numeral I was inscribed. As The Fool began to speak, the card began to glow and change. If anyone were watching, which only I was, they might be forgiven for thinking they saw the leopard blink his eye.

"To you, Chase Stein, I give the gift of The Magician. Your mind and body empowered and by it your genius shall be great, your hands be strong and your aim be sure.  For you shall be a man of action all the days of your life. May you do great things."

And with that he touched the card to the exposed arm of the sleeping baby and the card flared with light and then faded to nothing. It was done.

Calmly The Fool put the cards back in his box, slipped it back into his pocket, and stepped back from the bed. Neither mother nor son seemed to have noticed anything out of the ordinary, as both remained soundly and deeply asleep. It might have been our imagination, but I could swear I saw Chase kick is foot, if only a little.

* * *

The door was made around the edge of an open window and we stepped through into a richly appointed bedroom in a stately manner home in Eastern LA. Mother and daughter blissfully asleep in each other's arms. It wasn't a necessity to do the work, but it certainly made things easier. No need to worry about any sixth sense warning Leslie about any other presences in the room, as some humans who've been touched by the extraordinary can do. And given this child's parentage, "touched" was certainly an appropriate verb.

Regardless, this'd have to be done right and done quick. Jonah had been beginning to wither again, but if he knew he had a daughter before he became too sick to move he'd come to see her. And Jonah, who is anything but a normal man, can see us. There'd be no way to get to little Karolina again.

Still, The Fool moved slowly, and the reason why was evident. The baby was awake and her pretty little blue eyes were wide watching us. She wouldn't be able to see us for very long, not with the way she'd be raised, but she could see us now. What exactly we must look like to her was difficult to say, but The Fool kept moving slowly, talking softly as he came, telling her what a splendid girl she was and would grow to be.

He wasn't wrong there. Even this small, it's clear this will be one gorgeous girl. Hearts will be broken, and that's not even considering the beautiful lights that played across her skin. Rainbows of color danced all over her and little sparkles followed in their wake.

Of course, there'd probably be more than a few rainbow jokes in a couple of years, or whenever she got around to figuring herself out.

Once again The Fool opened his box and started shuffling his cards, all slow and deliberate like while baby Karolina watched with wrapped attention. Babies aren't supposed to be able to focus on much of anything until they're several months old not several hours, but given all the strange things this little one was, that seems like a minor concern.

This time the card that The Fool pulled from the deck was themed in white. The card depicted a beautiful white tiger under a crescent moon, her eyes were closed but her ears were perked. Between her fore-paws there sat a crystal orb that swirled with the same colors as played across Karolina herself. Another little roman numeral was imprinted at the top of the card, this time II. The rest of the card was back as night with little streaks representing stars.

When The Fool spoke, the card began to glow silver and the tiger's eyes opened. They glowed with the same swirling colors as the orb between her paws.

"To you, Karolina Dean, I give the gift of The High Priestess. Be you in action or in stillness, always the light will be with you and nothing, no trick nor idea nor simple way of thing shall contain you. For you shall be the proof that there is more beyond what can be seen and a living force of nature in your own right. May you do great thing."

Slow and careful, The Fool lowered the card to touch Karolina between the eyes. It was almost funny watching her go cross-eyed trying to keep the card in view. The second it touched her the card dissolved into sparkles of light which rained down on Karolina's face. The baby let out a little noise, almost a giggle, but it didn't stir her mother at all.

Satisfied and job done, The Fool packed his cards away and got up to go. Of course, that was the exact moment the door to the bedroom opened. Caught off his guard, The Fool raised his cane and planted his feet, ready to make a fighting retreat against the monster about to come through that door.

But it wasn't Jonah, it was only Frank Dean. Totally normal human man with a bit of an ego and formerly a member of Pryde. The Fool relaxed and even smiled as Frank whispered softly to Karolina so as not to wake Leslie. There was hope for this man. Not much hope, but more so than the others. His memories of Pryde and Jonah were gone, and that was always an opportunity for good to creep in through the cracks. Still, it was a certainly that he'd be pulled back into The Gibborim's world and when he did most versions of events had him turning on his kid and the rest of the world for his own sake.

The Fool turned back towards the window and raised his cane. It was time to go, and he hope fervently that he wouldn't have to come back for the next ones. It was only going to get worse if it didn't get better.

* * *

The Fool landed in the chair with an "umph" and a deep sigh. Well, more accurately he'd opened a door through a sun moat directly above the chair which we'd both stepped through, he in the perfect position to land in the richly (for a hospital) appointed arm chair. The arms were wooden rectangles which doubled as legs, but the cushions were thick and the recline was enough that it was clearly a chair meant for relaxing more than anything else.

There was another such chair on the other side of the bed, this one pulled right up against the bed frame and it's occupant wasn't making use of its recline. Geoffrey Wilder was instead slumped over the bed fast asleep, his head resting on the mattress just before the lump in the sheets indicated where his wife's leg started. Catherine Wilder was awake. Her left hand was resting on top of Geoffrey's head and her thumb was absently stroking back and forth. Her right arm and hand was cradling her baby son to her as he slept soundly.

He was small, the doctors said, and underweight for a newborn. Catherine didn't care though. Her Alexander was going to be just fine and, for now, it just meant she could show both her boys how much she loved them. That's what makes this so sad and frankly painful to do. These people, most of them anyway, really do love their children and would be heartbroken if they turned on them. And these kids would love their parents just as much.

"Oh lad," said The Fool, his voice depressed. He too was leaning forward, his fingers laced together atop his cane and his chin resting atop them. "If I was to list all the reasons I don't want to do this to you, we'd be here till the rest of your family is born." There was no need to worry about Catherine hearing or even "feeling" anything abnormal. A woman more devoted to the world as it appeared to her, who absolutely did not believe in spirits or real magic would be hard to find even for one of our talents.

The Fool pushed himself to his feet and moved to the side of the bed. He crouched down so as to be on level with the sleeping baby's head.

"In so many ways, you're going to have the most to carry in this, and it's you who'll face the most risk and the most temptation. Such is the burden of leadership. And I know you didn't ask for this, and I know it isn't fair, and I hope you can forgive me for setting you and yours up as the world's shield. But if you don't do this, your world will die, and that is something you'll have to decide what to do about. The gifts I give may be my own, but the choices will always be yours. I'll not force you to do anything, and that's a promise."

With that, The Fool straightened and once again pulled the deck out of his pocket. Once again he shuffled the cards, looking down and thinking of the boy.

The card The Fool drew was almost austere in comparison to those that'd preceded it. The was almost blank except for three figures. At the top was the expected roman numeral, this one IV. To the right and a little down was the image of a solar eclipse in full effect, the red fire of the sun burning all around the black silhouette of the moon. The image that dominated the card however what that of a Grand Fur Tree, whose colors were muted to black under the eclipse's light.

"Alexander Wilder," The Fool spoke and the card began to come alive. The light of the eclipse flickered and danced and the tree's branches gently swayed. "To you I give the gift of The Emperor, for you were born to be a leader of men. To you shall be granted great strength of mind and soul and a heart that can weather any storm. It shall be yours always to protect others from harm and with these gifts fight for their safety. May you do great things."

He touched the card to the crown of Alex's head and it shimmered like a heat mirage before it too disappeared. And then the baby suddenly woke up and looked right at The Fool. He didn't cry or make a sound and he couldn't seem him, but he knew we were here. To The Fool, it felt as if a lifetime of condemnation was held in that one glance, as if this child knew exactly what The Fool had just sentences him to. And The Fool held Alex's eyes for as long as he could before Catherine noticed her baby was awake and started fussing, breaking his attention on whatever strangeness he'd briefly sensed in his environment.

The Fool turned without a word and waked away, only once glancing back over his shoulder to look at the newborn leader of the resistance to be.

* * *

This time when The Fool opened a door he had to use the crack around an actual door to get in. It wasn't like that was any different from opening a door anywhere else, it just wasn't his preference. A man touched with pride, The Fool has a flair and preference for the dramatic and he loves opening doors where they didn't already exist.

Still, the point of this exercise wasn't to please him or anyone else for that matter. It was because the girl we'd come to bless had been born at home and the control freaks of this particular household were meticulous about painting over cracks in their walls and the windows were hermetically sealed against any egress without computer override. And it was too much like work to jump though all the hoops required to get around that computer when we could just open a door around another door.

The Fool strode forward, but immediately regretted the vehemence with which he'd done so as he nearly tripped over the little girl sleeping on the plush carpet in front of the crib. The Fool looked down in time to catch himself and save an awful lot of trouble. He smiled at the sleeping shape, and bent down to straighten the thin blanket over her which had somehow nearly come off as she slept.

It was a sweet thing, a sister not wanting her sister to be left alone in her room. She was even wearing an "I'm A Big Sister" shirt which, given the fact that she was sleeping in it, she'd likely been wearing all day, or at least since she heard that her mom was giving birth anyway.

The Fool pressed a light kiss to the sleeping girl's head and then rose and turned back the the crib against the far wall. In it lay a baby girl, just under a day old and already soundly asleep. Her mother was passed out in a rocking chair not a meter away, probably completely exhausted with two little girls to worry about now. Her husband, we knew, was down in the kitchen, making the calls and spreading the good news to the rest of the Pryde.

If only he knew.

"Hello little one." The Fool said with a smile. "It's good you're finally here. I was beginning to worry. I had you originally scheduled as third born not fourth. But I guess it doesn't really matter."

Again, it wasn't like baby Nico could here him, but he always did this, talking to the people as if they could hear him. I suppose it's a bit like those people who talk to characters in books or movies, except much more interactive in The Fool's case. It gives him some piece of mind while he works and, who knows, maybe they can hear him on some level, or at least know that someone is there who cares about them as much as possible.

The Fool didn't bother with shuffling this time. He'd known for a while what card this one would need. The card in question depicted a violent storm. A bolt of yellow-orange lightning split the sky. In the middle of it all a raven sat perched on an ornate black key, beak open and cawing at the sky. Superimposed above the whole scene was the roman numeral V. This card, it seemed, was more lively than the others as the second The Fool spoke, the bird lowered its head and beat its wings in a great display of animate will for a picture on a card.

"To you, Nico Minoru, I give the gift of The Hierophant. All your days people will see you and hear you and think they know you, but they know nothing. You are no cawing crow, though some will insist that is all you are. You are a Thunderbird, a bringer of wisdom and protector of cities. To you it is given to know a deeper and truer understanding of all that is around you and only ever be what you expect of yourself. May you do great things."

The Fool touched the card to Nico's hand and watched it ripple like water as it faded out of existence. It wasn't Nico who stirred though as the power sank home, it was Tina as she began to wake before our eyes. Though she was known to be far too wrapped up in the science of it all, there was a chance she'd be aware enough to be able to sense or even see us outright. It wasn't worth the risk either way, and The Fool beat a hasty retreat, barely pausing to wave an invisible goodbye to both the baby and her big sister, neither of whom would ever realized he was there.

* * *

The door opened into another hospital, this time in a hallway rather than a room. As if to make up for last time. the point of entry had been a loose ceiling tile directly overhead. It'd been more than a little disorienting stepping through one directional pull of gravity and into another. Still, a moment of non-motion and a few hard blinks brought the Earthly Plain into proper focus. I managed to get myself in order just in time to see a very nervous bespectacled man pushing a heavily pregnant woman down the hall in a wheelchair with a half dozen men and women in medical scrubs following in his wake.

"And we're off." said The Fool, gesturing with his cane after that odd procession.

We followed down the hall at an infinitely more sedate pace than those who had preceded us, so by the time we stopped in front of the door the woman, Stacy Yorkes, was already lying in a bed with her legs propped up and screaming in pain while Dale held her hand and a doctor was telling her to push. We slipped through the door (which was closed it should be noted) and took standing positions against the far wall as we watched the drama play out in front of us and a new little person entering the world.

It wasn't until later, when the doctor and nurses had all cleared out to give the new parents some alone time with their daughter, that The Fool and I moved forward, him kneeling down next to the little face peeking out from around Stacy's elbow.

"I'm gonna level with you Gert," he said, "you're going to have a rough time of it in this life. And I don't mean because of your name, though I've got to say you're the only Gertrude I've ever known personally.

"Anyway," The Fool broke into his own rambling, shaking his head to get his scatterbrained self back on track, "I know what it's like, having too much inside to carry around like everyone else. And sometimes it's going to be too much and you are going to loose control. I don't know what shape that's going to take, but I've been there and I know how hard it is to feel like you're loosing your mind and being an emotional burden on everyone around you. Here me and keep this close, you are not a burden. You will be loved like very few have ever been by a real family who sees you and knows your worth. Never even think of giving up on that.

"And speaking of." The Fool paused as he pulled the deck out of his pocket and started shuffling while still only looking at the truly adorable little girl yawn and start to drift off. "I think for once, the gift I have to give might actually be more of a help than a hindrance."

The card The Fool had drawn from the deck was marked by an XI at the top surmounted by a red and gold sunburst. Beneath the rays of that sun was the face of a lion with a luxurious thick mane and very deep, emotional eyes. An infinity symbol looked to be burning on his forehead and he held a white rose in his mouth. When The Fool spoke the lion seemed not to move, but the lights in the sun and the infinity symbol began to dance and the lion's eyes took on an air of intelligence and thoughtful consideration more akin to a loved one than a world renowned predator.

"To you, Gertrude Yorkes, I give the Lion of Strength. It it not courage I give, that you already have, it is the fortitude of your own heart. The confidence to stand when others would buckle, for you know the true value of what you have and love it all the more. Say what you mean and what your heart give you to say. Loudly and often. May you do great things."

The Fool lowered the edge of the card to touch the baby's exposed color bone and let go as the card seemed to sink into her chest. There was a brief glow of light under the skin and then nothing.

After a moment of just watching the baby sleep, The Fool rose and turned, opening a door through a hairline fracture in a window pane. This would be the longest interval to wait through, and three more chances for someone to save these kids from the madness their lives were slated to become. A chance that grew more and more unlikely with every day that passed.

* * *

Molly was the last. Three years younger than the others, but possibly the key to the entire plan.

Her parents at least seemed to know what they were about. Plus, if the auguries were right, they had a chance at averting the nightmare that awaited their daughter and their God Children. It was predicted that Alice and Gene would discover the truth about The Gibborim and what they would do to the world, which meant maybe, just maybe, they and not their children would be the ones to save the world.

Still, the plan was already in motion and we couldn't leave the team one member short. If we waited to see what happened it'd be too late. It is strange though, only using six. Tradition usually called for seven and there were seven children at hand. But that avenue had been looked in to and the ruling was clear. Amy had a destiny of her own and for good or ill was to be left alone by us.

Such thoughts had to be quelled as I stepped through after The Fool, around a painting hanging in the hospital nursery. A room filled with the  very small was no place for spirits in turmoil, it might scar them for life.

Neither The Fool nor I knew exactly where the future would go nor what all destiny had in store for these young people, but anyone with eyes could see this baby was something truly special, or would be anyway. The baby we wanted was close by and fairly easy to pick out given her overall sparklyness. Not in the same way Karolina sparkled, this was in spiritual terms not physical. Only three cribs down from where we'd come out, with a sticker baring "Molly Hayes" in bold black type. Wait, that's not right. Molly's name is "Hernandez". Who's in charge of these things anyway?

The Fool didn't seem bothered though as he looked down at the little bundle in the plastic cradle.

"Unless my math is off, and it very well might be, you'll be about 14 when the call finally comes. Some people aren't going to like that you do this so young, I know I don't. But I don't like putting anyone in danger like this, and as for those others, well people have been underestimating children for years. You're going to be you're family's strong right hand. When something important needs doing, you'll be the one they send to do it, you can count on that. But it can be a great burden to be needed as well as a gift. I suppose that's something of a pattern with all of the gifts I give isn't it?"

The Fool pulled out the deck and shuffled as he talked before he drew the card. This one was dominated by a Red Oak Tree, it's uppermost branches shimmering with lights in a purple and red corona. The rest of the tree was bathed in light from a crescent moon and the roman numeral III hung among pinprick stars, all of which seemed to twinkle and dance as The Fool started to speak.

"Molly Hernandez, I give to you the gift of The Empress. In so many ways the strongest of all, you shall be both example and inspiration. When  the strengths of others flag, you shall keep their hopes bright and their heads right. And when they are in danger you shall protect them from any harm, with your bare hands if necessary. Be wise, be brave and be careful, for you shall do great things."

The Fool reached down to touch the card to Molly as he had done with the others, but the baby met him half way down. Molly woke from her nap, saw the light of the card coming towards her and reached out with one little hand. It was a weak hand, which wasn't surprising given that she'd been literally born yesterday, but that'd change. One day she'd have the strength of an elephant, but for now it was enough. Her fingers brushed the cards' edge which seemed to twine strands of itself around those fingers and flow down into her hand. Molly smiled, not sure what'd just happened, but pleased with herself none the less. Apparently that was enough work for one day, as she immediately turned on her side and fell asleep.

We could see Gene and Alice looking through the window at the far end of the room, a nurse pointing out which of the cribs had their daughter. Gene looked to be displeased at something, probably at the way the hospital had gotten their name wrong. I can sympathize. Stupid typo could mess things up everywhere. What if someone in another realm wanted to write this story down some day. It could take years before the issue were properly straightened out.

Job done and witnesses come, it looked about time to go. So The Fool stepped around Molly's crib and walked to the door at the far end of the room, opening a door just as Alice and Gene were let into the nursery.

* * *

Mid-morning light streamed through the kitchen window. Three miniature clouds of steam rose from three mugs coffee as Janet Stein chatted amiably with Dale and Stacy Yorkes. The three of them had hardly seen one another out side of Pryde meetings these last five years, and they hadn't even had a chance to introduce their children yet.

The Fool and I stood a corner of the Yorkes' kitchen, watching the happy flow of conversation between these three friends. One would almost think they had not a care in the world from the way they talked and acted. Of more immediate interest to us though were the five year old boy with sand colored hair hiding shyly behind his mother's legs and the little girl dancing around the room, happily playing a game of her own invention in her own little world.

"Who 'sat Baba?" Gert asked quietly, looking up at The Fool.

Oh yeah, and she can see us.

Some children can do that, if they had the eyes to see plus staying open minded enough to accept things like spirits and powers. That largely where imaginary friends come from. Both Molly and Karolina can do it too.

The vale would put an end that in a few years and even the memories might fade if they conflicted too strongly with the narrative the vale was built upon, but it was crucial to at least give some exposure to magic when they were young. And it was especially needed in this ones’ case considering what she and her fellows would be facing.

The Fool knelt down towards the little lion-touched girl, happy to talk with her. He turned her, careful not to touch, towards the boy still only peaking around his mother’s skirts at one of the few girls his own age he'd ever met.

“His name is Chase Stine,” said The Fool, a glowing smile on his face. “And he’s all yours.”

Gert’s face seemed to light up and she immediately ran over to the slightly taller boy still cowering behind his mother. Grabbing him by the arm, she began to tug him towards the back door out from his nonexistent hiding place.

“Mine!” she proclaimed gleefully, clearly overjoyed with her new playmate as she dragged him off into her world in the back yard. Chase’s face was an almost comical mix of shock and fear, like she was his worst nightmare come to life. Which, in a way, she is. For what can be more terrible than something that grabs you without warning, turns your whole world upside down, and that you can't hide from no matter how you try.

The adults laughing at this utterly adorable turn of events, Dale jokingly telling Leslie Chase had his blessing to marry Gert someday. The Fool himself smiled merrily as he took up his cane and gazed into the reflective gold nob head, scrying the future, as was his want, to see if this interference would lead to the desired outcome. This was only what was most likely to happen, as choices still mattered from this point on, but still it was usually a quite effective tool in his hands.

It looked as if this little venture had payed dividends, as The Fool lowered the cane still looking quite satisfied.

“It’s a match,” he said, ostensibly to me but he’d have spoken even if I hadn’t been there. “It’ll still be a few years before it really takes off, but it’s a match clear and true.” He let out a deep sigh, anticipating the emotional feast to come. “I love my job.”

The Fool turned towards the slatted shutters over the window, briefly watched Gert chasing Chase around some trees, and raised his cane as she called for her new friend to "stop running and put the crown on" because she "needs a prince to save from the dragon".

* * *

Tonight was the night. Time was up for everyone.

It was never really in doubt that it would come to this, but hope was always key. It was too late now though, too late for any grand reconciliation and too late to change what was coming to them. They’d had their chances to do the right thing, but those had run out. Tonight was past the point of no return. Now they’d have to deal with the last people in the world they’d want to hurt, their own children.

“We all got your text.” said Chase from the doorstep below. We were seated above on the eves of the house.

“Manipulative, sending that photo.” That was Gert, still saddened by the night in general.

“But effective,” Alex pointed out, “since you’re almost all here.”

“Give it a second lad.” The Fool said, even though he knew no one but me could hear him. Sure enough though, Nico was barely three paces from the door when Alex had last spoken and The Fool smiled as Alex did when he saw all his true family together again. They just needed a nudge to realized that themselves.

“So…you gonna let us in?”

* * *

The newly named raptor Old Lace was running full tilt after her mistress. They were all running, running…and they weren’t going to stop. They’ll be running for a long time to come. It’ll be years before they can even think about going out in public without always watching over their shoulders, and that’s if they survive the coming days. Days that would see them scrounging for food and places to sleep which turn into weeks and months of fighting with the safety of the whole world on the line.

A light breeze came up in their passing, blowing bits of litter down the ally. A piece of ragged and damp newspaper quivered in it, but The Fool leaned a little more on his cane which was currently pinning that paper to the ground while its owner read the stained article heading.

“ **Earthquake Watch: Is LA Next?** ”

The Fool sighed. He wasn’t happy this time. All had gone to plan, but it still hurt to watch his kids go through this. That was The Fool though. Even when he knows what’s best and does what’s best, he never stops worrying. He always said he “cares about everything and therefore worries about everything.” It’s one of the reasons I love him

“The board is set.” he said aloud, seeming to pull a chess board complete with human shaped pieces out from behind his back and balance it perfectly on the palm of one hand.

It looked as if a great many pieces were missing. The white pieces seemed not have much besides pawns, except for the King and one Bishop. The King piece was shaped just like Jonah as he had been when he’d fought with Karolina, proud and angry and powerful. Next to him stood Frank Dean, his position and elevation in status marking him as Jonah’s new trusted subordinate. The rest of the pieces were shaped as the other members of the Pryde. All of them pawns, as they had always been even if they fancied themselves something more.

The opposing black side had no pawns, but a full court of royal pieces. A piece that looked identical to Alex when he was issuing directions stood as the King. A Molly piece, her fists raised and her tiny eyes pained yellow, stood to his right as Queen. On either side of them stood Nico and Karolina as Bishops, Nico with her staff (which the real Nico would soon have back in her possession) and Karolina sans bracelet and trailing ribbons of light. To their right and left respectively were the Knights, Gert and Chase both armed as they had been during their raid on the construction site, though Gert had her glasses on this time. Finally there were the Rooks. Old Lace stood next to Knight Gert and an odd looking machine of some kind crouched next to Knight Chase. That was the all-terrain vehicle called "The Leap Frog” and soon it’d be a vital part of the war on the Gibborim.

“Why’d you make them the white pieces?” I asked, mildly curious.

“They made the first move,” The Fool said simply as the pawn that looked like Geoffrey Wilder moved forward two spaces. “Now it’s their turn.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm pretty sure this is just going to be a one-shot, but we'll have to see how the rest of the series works out before I know for sure.
> 
> As always, comments and reviews are welcome.


End file.
